Art looting, destruction, and protection during World War II : Germany and Austria
Library Profile
Nazi Cultural Policy
- Art as politics in the Third ReichPetropoulos, Jonathan. Art as politics in the Third Reich. Chapel Hill : University of North Carolina Press, c1996.
- “Degenerate Art”: the fate of the avant-garde in Nazi GermanyBarron, Stephanie et al. “Degenerate Art”: the fate of the avant-garde in Nazi Germany. Los Angeles, Calif. : Los Angeles County Museum of Art ; New York : H.N. Abrams, c1991.
- Degenerate art: forbidden art in Nazi GermanyBunce, William. Degenerate art: (forbidden art in Nazi Germany). New York : La Boetie, Inc., [1972]
Catalog of an exhibition at La Boetie, Inc., in New York, Apr. 4-May 20, 1972. The exhibition was a partial reconstruction of the exhibit of "Degenerate art" which took place in 1937 throughout Germany.
Includes a brochure and leaflet about the 1972 exhibition, a reprint of the original 1937 catalog, and an English translation of the original catalog by former Kohler Art Library Director William C. Bunce. - Database "Entartete Kunst"The Department of Art History at the Freie Universität Berlin maintains the most complete online inventory of art taken from German museums during the Nazi period. Some entries have images and the current locations of artwork. The database is in English and German.
- "Entartete Kunst"The Victoria and Albert Museum digitized a complete two volume inventory of modern art confiscated from German museums and sold by the Nazis in February 2014.
- The Faustian Bargain: the art world in Nazi GermanyPetropoulos, Jonathan. The Faustian bargain: the art world in Nazi Germany. New York, N.Y. : Oxford University Press, 2000.
Wartime Activity
- Beyond the dreams of avarice : the Hermann Goering collectionYeide, Nancy H. Beyond the dreams of avarice: the Hermann Goering collection. Dallas, TX: Laurel Publishing, LLC, 2009
- Hermann Göring and the Nazi art collection : the looting of Europe's art treasures and their dispersal after World War IIAlford, Kenneth D. Hermann Göring and the Nazi art collection: the looting of Europe’s art treasures and their dispersal after World War II. London; Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, 2012.
- The lost masters : World War II and the looting of Europe's treasurehousesHarclerode, Peter and Brendan Pittaway. The lost masters: World War II and the looting of Europe’s treasurehouses. New York : Welcome Rain Publishers, 2000.
- Pack of thieves : how Hitler and Europe plundered the Jews and committed the greatest theft in historyChesnoff, Richard Z. Pack of thieves: how Hitler and Europe plundered the Jews and committed the greatest theft in history. New York : Doubleday, c1999.
- The rape of Europa: the fate of Europe's treasures in the Third Reich and the Second World WarNicholas, Lynn H. The rape of Europa: the fate of Europe’s treasures in the Third Reich and Second World War. New York: Knopf, 1994.
- Rescuing da Vinci : Hitler and the Nazis stole Europe's great art : America and her Allies recovered itEdsel, Robert M. Rescuing da Vinci: Hitler and the Nazis stole Europe’s great art: America and her Allies recovered it. Dallas, TX: Laurel Publishing, LLC, 2006.
Postwar Recovery and Return of Art to and from Germany
- The hare with amber eyes : a hidden inheritanceDe Waal, Edmund. The hare with amber eyes: a hidden inheritance. New York : Picador, [2011].
Traces the parallel stories of nineteenth-century art patron Charles Ephrussi and his unique collection of 360 miniature netsuke Japanese ivory carvings, documenting Ephrussi's relationship with Marcel Proust and the impact of the Holocaust on his cosmopolitan family. - The lady in gold : the extraordinary tale of Gustav Klimt's masterpiece, Portrait of Adele Bloch-BauerO’Connor, Anne-Marie. The lady in gold: the extraordinary tale of Gustav Klimt’s masterpiece, Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer. New York: Knopf, 2012.
- Lost lives, lost art : Jewish collectors, Nazi art theft and the quest for justiceMüller, Melissa and Monika Tatzkow. Lost Lives, Lost Art: Jewish collectors, Nazi art theft, and the quest for justice. London: Frontline Books, 2010.
- The monuments men : Allied heros, Nazi thieves, and the greatest treasure hunt in historyEdsel, Robert M. and Bret Witter. The monuments men: Allied heroes, Nazi thieves, and the greatest treasure hunt in history. New York: Center Street, 2009.
- Treasure hunt : a New York Times reporter tracks the Quedlinburg hoardHonan, William H. Treasure hunt: a New York Times reporter tracks the Quedlinburg hoard. New York : Fromm International Pub. Corp., c1997.
Nearly half a century after the end of World War II, the famous and priceless Quedlinburg treasures were still missing. The Nazis had commandeered this magnificent hoard of medieval artworks and had hidden it in a cave on the outskirts of Quedlinburg - a quaint, cobblestone-paved village in central Germany. But soon after victorious American troops occupied Germany in April 1945, twelve of the treasures - worth more than $200 million in today's market - were found to have suddenly disappeared.
Featured Titles
The Lady in GoldO’Connor, Anne-Marie. The lady in gold: the extraordinary tale of Gustav Klimt’s masterpiece, Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer. New York: Knopf, 2012.
Ferdinand and Adele Bloch-Bauer were major Jewish patrons of the artist Gustav Klimt. Two portraits of Adele were commissioned from the artist in Vienna. The first portrait, Adele Bloch-Bauer I (1907) is one of Klimt’s best known works. The extensive Bloch-Bauer holdings were prime targets for the Nazis after the 1938 Anschluss. The Nazis called the portrait, Lady in Gold, removing Adele’s name from the title. After the war, the Österreichische Galerie Belvedere (Austrian State Gallery) acquired the Bloch-Bauer Klimt paintings. In 1998, Adele and Ferdinand’s niece, Maria Altmann, fought for ownership of the Klimts. They were returned to her in 2006 and were later sold at auction. Adele Bloch-Bauer I is now owned by New York’s Neue Galerie. The book also focuses on Vienna before the Anschluss, Klimt’s other patrons, and on Adele’s charity and social work, especially women’s issues and education, workers’ rights, and health care reform.
Lost Lives, Lost ArtMüller, Melissa and Monika Tatzkow. Lost Lives, Lost Art: Jewish collectors, Nazi art theft, and the quest for justice. London: Frontline Books, 2010.
Austrian and German institutions and individuals both during and after the Nazi period acquired looted art that had come from Jewish collections. Other countries, especially France and the Netherlands, discreetly merged unclaimed art into their national collections that had been returned to them after the war for temporary safekeeping. It was not until the 1998 Washington Principles, which caused both countries to change their restitution procedures, that the heirs had more success in claiming the most important works from their ancestors’ collection. Previously, they were met by stonewalling and resistance by both museums and national governments. The authors focus on well documented collections with important works of art that either have been returned to the heirs of the original owners or on works of art that are being sought after by the heirs. Among the collectors profiled are Adele and Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer and Alfred and Thekla Hess.
